iPhone trade-in coming to UK Apple Stores soon?

iPhone trade-in coming to UK Apple Stores soon?
Would you go direct to Apple to upgrade?

Apple looks set to roll out an iPhone reuse and recycling programme in the UK in the coming months and if it does, it will allow customers to bring an old iPhone into an Apple Store and exchange it for some credit towards a new one.

It's already launched in the US in August, but according to a source who spoke with 9to5Mac, Apple has begun preparing training materials for a UK based version of the iPhone trade in service and has even started training staff in a few stores.

Old for new

The service won't likely launch until staff in all stores are trained up, but when it does you can expect to be offered a price for your old phone based on its condition.

However, assuming the system is the same as that in the US, the credit must be used then and there and can only be used towards a new iPhone, so if you're looking to jump ship this isn't the way to go.

Apple has offered a similar scheme online for a while now and the online version is actually more flexible as you're not limited to just trading in an iPhone or only using your credit on a new iPhone. On the other hand it's a whole lot less convenient as you have to ship your device to Apple.

Whether convenience will win the day here remains to be seen, but it looks like customers will soon at least have the option.

  • Has this news got you eyeing up a new iPhone? Then see what we thought of the iPhone 5S.
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.